Judge Timothy Kelley of Baton Rouge's 19th Judicial District Court ruled Friday that the state's system of offering vouchers violates the state Constitution, because it uses money that the Constitution earmarks for public schools.

The workaround -- if appeals are unsuccessful -- would be to set aside money elsewhere in the state budget for vouchers. Even opponents acknowledged that wouldn't be difficult.

The Times quotes Brian Blackwell of the Louisiana Association of Educations, one of the state's two major teachers unions, saying: "I think they can do it right. The question is whether or not there's a willingness to do it right."